Method and apparatus for recommending a charging station

Abstract

The present invention relates to method and apparatus for recommending a charging station, the method includes: determining, based on personal preference information of a user of an electric vehicle, a specific area reachable by the electric vehicle and suitable for charging the electric vehicle, when receiving a request for searching for a charging station for the electric vehicle; recommending a suitable charging station located in the specific area to the electric vehicle for charging. A suitable charging station may be recommended to the electric vehicle for charging with the method and apparatus.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for recommending a charging station to a user of an electric vehicle, comprising:
 determining personal preference information of the user of the electric vehicle, comprising information on a type of desired surroundings for parking and charging; 
 determining, based on the personal preference information, a specific area reachable by the electric vehicle and suitable for charging the electric vehicle; 
 determining a charging intent of the electric vehicle; 
 searching for charging stations located in the specific area to acquire a plurality of candidate charging stations; 
 acquiring charging rounds and current statuses of respective charging piles of each of the plurality of candidate charging stations, wherein the charging round of each charging pile represents a ratio of the charging time to an occupancy time of the charging pile, the current status of each charging pile represents whether the charging pile is currently idle or not, and the occupancy time refers to a total accumulation time of the charging pile occupied by vehicles for charging and parking within a certain period of time; 
 recommending a suitable charging station of the plurality of candidate charging stations to the electric vehicle for charging based on the determined charging intent and the acquired charging rounds and current statuses; and 
 presenting the recommended charging station to the user of the electric vehicle. 
 
     
     
       2. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the recommending of the suitable charging station of the plurality of candidate charging stations to the electric vehicle for charging comprises:
 if the determined charging intent is charge-and-go, checking, based on the acquired current statuses, whether there is at least one charging station in the plurality of candidate charging stations each containing a plurality of charging piles that are currently idle; and 
 if the check result is true, selecting the charging station closest to the electric vehicle from the at least one charging station to recommend to the electric vehicle. 
 
     
     
       3. The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the recommending of the suitable charging station of the plurality of candidate charging stations to the electric vehicle for charging further comprises:
 if the check result is false, calculating, based on the acquired charging rounds, a charging round of each of the plurality of candidate charging stations, wherein the charging round of each candidate charging station represents an average of the charging rounds of respective charging piles in the candidate charging station; and 
 selecting, from the plurality of candidate charging stations, the charging station having the largest charging round to recommend to the electric vehicle. 
 
     
     
       4. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the recommending of a suitable charging station of the plurality of candidate charging stations to the electric vehicle for charging comprises:
 if the determined charging intent is charge-and-park, calculating, based on the acquired charging rounds, a charging round of each of the plurality of candidate charging stations, wherein the charging round of each candidate charging station represents an average of the charging rounds of respective charging piles in the candidate charging station; 
 finding, from the plurality of candidate charging stations, charging stations having a charging round less than a charging round threshold; 
 detecting, based on the acquired current statuses, whether there are one or more charging stations in the found charging stations each containing a plurality of charging piles that are currently idle; and 
 if the detection result is true, selecting the charging station closest to the electric vehicle from the one or more charging stations to recommend to the electric vehicle. 
 
     
     
       5. The method according to  claim 4 , wherein the recommending of a suitable charging station of the plurality of candidate charging stations to the electric vehicle for charging further comprises:
 if the detection result is false, selecting, from the found charging stations, the charging station having the largest charging round to recommend to the electric vehicle. 
 
     
     
       6. The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the determining of a charging intent of the electric vehicle comprises:
 determining a charging intent of the electric vehicle based on one or more of remaining battery power of the electric vehicle, historical travel trajectories of the electric vehicle, and a navigation route of the electric vehicle. 
 
     
     
       7. A non-transitory machine readable storage medium having executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a machine to perform the method of  claim 1 . 
     
     
       8. A client device having a processor and memory, wherein the memory stores executable instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:
 determine personal preference information of the user of the electric vehicle, comprising information on a type of desired surroundings for parking and charging; 
 determine, based on the personal preference information, a specific area reachable by the electric vehicle and suitable for charging the electric vehicle; 
 determine a charging intent of the electric vehicle; 
 search for charging stations located in the specific area to acquire a plurality of candidate charging stations; 
 acquire charging rounds and current statuses of respective charging piles of each of the plurality of candidate charging stations, wherein the charging round of each charging pile represents a ratio of the charging time to an occupancy time of the charging pile, the current status of each charging pile represents whether the charging pile is currently idle or not, and the occupancy time refers to a total accumulation time of the charging pile occupied by vehicles for charging and parking within a certain period of time; 
 recommend a suitable charging station of the plurality of candidate charging stations to the electric vehicle for charging based on the determined charging intent and the acquired charging rounds and current statuses; and 
 present the recommended charging station to the user of the electric vehicle. 
 
     
     
       9. The client device of  claim 8 , wherein the memory stores executable instructions that, when executed, cause the processor additionally to:
 if the determined charging intent is charge-and-go, check, based on the acquired current statuses, whether there is at least one charging station in the plurality of candidate charging stations each containing a plurality of charging piles that are currently idle; and 
 if the check result is true, select the charging station closest to the electric vehicle from the at least one charging station to recommend to the electric vehicle. 
 
     
     
       10. The client device of  claim 9 , wherein the memory stores executable instructions that, when executed, cause the processor additionally to:
 if the check result is false, calculate, based on the acquired charging rounds, a charging round of each of the plurality of candidate charging stations, wherein the charging round of each candidate charging station represents an average of the charging rounds of respective charging piles in the candidate charging station; and 
 select, from the plurality of candidate charging stations, the charging station having the largest charging round to recommend to the electric vehicle. 
 
     
     
       11. The client device of  claim 8 , wherein the memory stores executable instructions that, when executed, cause the processor additionally to:
 if the determined charging intent is charge-and-park, calculate, based on the acquired charging rounds, a charging round of each of the plurality of candidate charging stations, wherein the charging round of each candidate charging station represents an average of the charging rounds of respective charging piles in the candidate charging station; 
 find, from the plurality of candidate charging stations, charging stations having a charging round less than a charging round threshold; 
 detect, based on the acquired current statuses, whether there are one or more charging stations in the found charging stations each containing a plurality of charging piles that are currently idle; and 
 if the detection result is true, select the charging station closest to the electric vehicle from the one or more charging stations to recommend to the electric vehicle. 
 
     
     
       12. The client device of  claim 11 , wherein the memory stores executable instructions that, when executed, cause the processor additionally to:
 if the detection result is false, select, from the found charging stations, the charging station having the largest charging round to recommend to the electric vehicle. 
 
     
     
       13. The client device of  claim 8 , wherein the memory stores executable instructions that, when executed, cause the processor additionally to:
 determine a charging intent of the electric vehicle based on one or more of remaining battery power of the electric vehicle, historical travel trajectories of the electric vehicle, and a navigation route of the electric vehicle.